Perseverance (psychology)
Under endurance refers to the in character justified ability of a human being, a target even with undiminished motivation to pursue if the effort has to be maintained for a long time or against resistance. Other names for it are perseverance , perseverance and stamina , perseverance or persistence .
Definition of terms
The term consistency is also used to describe a match between intention and behavior . While consequence describes an observable, concrete, individual behavior, terms such as perseverance and perseverance are applied to skills and general behavioral tendencies.
Terms such as resoluteness , determination , decisiveness, and willpower conceptualize motivation as a punctual event rather than a long-term effort. Diligence is not so much the ability to defend oneself against fatigue , but the willingness to work hard. Competencies such as equanimity , constancy, commitment , loyalty and the like, like perseverance, denote a character-based consistency and uniformity of behavior, but are not aimed at specific goals. Patience, on the other hand, is oriented towards a goal, but instead of an effort implies waiting or enduring .
Stubbornness describes the same thing as perseverance, but - similar to defiance and stubbornness - mostly implies criticism of the goal pursued and is thus negatively connoted:
“ My father possessed many virtues - but he also had a strong aftertaste of a quality in his being that, depending on the person, could or may not be counted among the virtues. The same is for a good cause, perseverance, and at a bad stubbornness . "
Psychological and educational perspective
Endurance through autonomy support
The self-determination theory (SDT ) founded by Deci and Ryan (2000, 2008) describes persistence as a behavioral characteristic that is more pronounced the higher the degree of autonomy of the associated motivation. This kind of motivation of others can be supported by taking the perspective of the others, giving them options, giving them the opportunity to discover things on their own, giving them space for their own initiative and providing convincing, comprehensible reasons. Motivation strategies that are less evaluative and therefore more supportive of the joy of learning are seen as decisive for better performance, in particular also greater endurance, and greater well-being of the learner. In contrast, result-dependent rewards, performance comparisons and normative targets are associated with multiple hidden psychological costs from the point of view of self-determination theory.
Perseverance and success
Since the 1980s there have been increasing research findings in psychology, according to which the most powerful predictor of academic and professional success is not intelligence , but perseverance. So get used gifted children when the environment their talent conceived as "innate" easily because they are not only seemingly nothing to do for school success need , but also nothing to do for it can . As a result, such children often lack basic work habits , which can lead to a breakdown in self-esteem and motivation when the school requirements increase in the 7th or 8th grade . The American psychologist Carol S. Dweck (* 1946) distinguishes between two types of students: the first considers success a question of talent, cannot stand mistakes and, if success fails, collapses helplessly; the second is based on the task master and has internalized the conviction that success must be achieved hard. As has been shown in empirical studies, the chances of success of the latter type are significantly higher than those of the former.
Education for perseverance
The educational guide literature contains a wealth of recommendations on how to raise children to be persistent. First and foremost, the good example of the parents is mentioned again and again , who do not give up projects but stick to the cause in their own affairs. Second, competent parents encourage their child to face challenges that require adequate perseverance. Third, they clearly state their expectation that giving up the child is out of the question.
Clinical Psychology
Inadequate stamina is a leading symptom of ADHD attention disorder . Affected children do not last long in activities that require cognitive activity and generally tend to switch from one activity to another without finishing anything. A lack of endurance is also typical for neurasthenia and dysthymia .
As the clinical psychologist Wendy Mogel has emphasized in her book The Blessings of a Skinned Knee , behavior problems such as a lack of perseverance do not always have to think of a pathology, but also have to consider character problems, those caused by a suitable one Education can be counteracted.
Perseverance as a virtue
Persistence is considered a virtue from the point of view of virtue ethics in Cicero and in the Christian doctrine of virtues , which is assigned to the cardinal virtue of bravery ( fortitude ). Accordingly, Friedrich Paulsen describes perseverance as "a form of bravery, the strength of the will to endure all kinds of complaints". A similar definition of perseverance can also be found in Friedrich Schleiermacher . The virtue-ethical perspective is different from the psychological one: even a felon can be "persevering" in carrying out his projects, persistence in the virtue-ethical sense only exists if the perseverance is aimed at the realization of the ethically good.
In Christian spiritual theology, perseverance is an expression of a sporty and persevering (cf. Hebr. 10, 36), patient endeavor to follow Christ in the entire perspective of life despite internal and external resistance: "Perseverance is a virtue that comes with living through that has to do with time and with being confronted with resistance of various kinds: it is about remaining true to the project, not being used up and being crushed by the monotony of the same thing, every day the tasks assigned to us by God to dedicate."
Cultural connotations
In the cultural discourse of the English-speaking world, especially in the United States , the Perseverance enjoys an extremely high reputation today. In urban slang, a trooper is someone who can endure an effort or strain for a long time without complaint. The social type of person who never gives up is sometimes referred to as a bulldog in English . The opposite, a quitter , is someone who is always quick to give up.
In German corresponding expressions are missing. Instead, the term “ability to suffer” is used here, which usually describes foolish perseverance and implies that the person concerned would be well advised to shake off the cause of his or her suffering. However, the German also knows the expression "announcement world champion", which describes someone who promises a lot but does not keep his announcements - be it due to calculated insincerity , forgetfulness , overestimation of himself or being short of breath.
literature
- Joachim Häupel: To train the will, especially the perseverance of the students in class . Didactic investigation in mathematics and physics lessons in grade 9, dissertation, Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the GDR, Berlin 1982.
- Elisabeth Schulze: Conditions for an effective education in creativity and for the development of perseverance through independent experimentation in chemistry lessons in class eight . Diss., Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the GDR, Berlin 1982.
- Renate Schütze: The effects of classroom learning, designed as task solving, on the development of the will of the students, especially on the development of perseverance . Diss., Dresden University of Education, 1970.
Individual evidence
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^ Edward L. Deci, & Richard M. Ryan (2000): The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior . In: Psychological Inquiry 11 (4), 227-268.
Edward L. Deci, & Richard M. Ryan (2008): Self-Determination Theory: A Macrotheory of Human Motivation, Development, and Health . In: Canadian Psychology 49, 182-185. - ^ Carol S. Dweck: The Secret to Raising Smart Kids , Scientific American , November 28, 2007
- ↑ Dennis E. Mithaug: Self-Determined kids . Raising Satiesfied and Successful Children. Lexington, 1991, ISBN 0-669-27140-3 , pp. xxi ( limited preview in Google Book Search). ; W. Doyle Gentry: Happiness for Dummies . Wiley Publishing, Hoboken 2008, ISBN 978-0-470-28171-0 , pp. 276 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Marianne Leunzinger-Bohleber: ADHD early prevention rather than medicalization . Theory, research, controversy. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-525-45178-4 , pp. 11 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Gessmann, Martin (ed.): Philosophical dictionary. - 23rd edition. - Kröner, Stuttgart 2009: Persistence.
- ↑ Friedrich Paulsen : System of ethics with an outline of the state and social theory. (1889) II5, 25
- ↑ Friedrich Schleiermacher : Philosophical moral theory. § 315 ff.
- ↑ Josef Weismayer: Perseverance. In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 2 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1994, Sp. 151 (152) .
- ^ Trooper Urban Dictionary
- ↑ ; Actually, quitters do win, sometimes. ( Memento from February 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Michele Borba : How not to raise a quitter ; Katy Abel: When Kids Want to Quit
- ↑ Examples: Enormously capable of suffering Die Zeit, December 9, 2011; Anyone who drives Fox shows great capacity for suffering Welt Online, June 15, 2011
- ↑ Examples: Silvio Berlusconi: The announcement world champion Der Spiegel, October 27, 2011; “Announcement world champion” Obama wants to save Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, January 26, 2011; The announcement world champion, Die Welt, June 15, 2011